Now We're Strangers
by Noelle la Marie
Summary: 8 years after Etheria reappeared out of the pocket dimension of Despondos, two sisters find that their three-year-long journey across the universe is about to come to an end. As they make their way back home, they are secure in the knowledge that the kingdom of Half-Moon is strong enough to protect them. But the past has a way of following even the most remorseful of souls.


Bastet was a happy child. Even while walking through a barren desert in the middle of the night, after being woken up abruptly by her sister and packing their campsite without breakfast, Bastet couldn't help but be excited about the prospect of leaving the small town they had been staying at and moving on to wherever C'yra decided they were going next. The other kids of the town weren't mean to her per se, but after her first day there, they had started acting standoffish with some of them even making fun of her fluffy ears and white-tipped tail. When she told her older sister about it, she said that the other children must have realized how much better Bastet was then them and that Bastet should try making friends with people who are more worthy of her.

"Like Tut and Lyssa?"

"Yeah, or that one kid from Primus?"

"Kayo?"

"Yeah! Hang out with more people like him. People who recognize your greatness and who can match it perfectly."

Bastet wasn't able to find anyone like that in Armorcloni, but that was fine. There was always the next place and the place after that.

3 months ago they had arrived in Armorcloni, a desert community on the 9th planet of Carbias, with no home not very many possessions other than spare food, clothes, and camping equipment. Years ago, the place was a mining town that manufactured Armor and Weapons for the seemingly endless war in Eternia. Since the government body that controlled Carbias planets 1 through 12 opted to remain neutral in the war, arms were discreetly distributed to both sides of the conflict, giving planets like Carbias 9 a period of economic prosperity with Armorcloni being one of its primary cities for export. Since the war had ended, however, the companies and workers who had come to the town to capitalize on the resources had left almost immediately, along with most of the aforementioned prosperity. Armorcloni became a shell and a shadow of its former self, so much so that the only company that is still in operation in the town can barely survive with most of the town's people working there just to keep it alive.

Suspicious then that a dark cat woman with jagged scars and a missing eye would drift into town one night with a child, supposedly looking for work as if Armorcloni could provide such a thing. The rumors flew, some said that the woman was a young mother, running from debt collectors in the capital and giving herself and her daughter a sisterly relationship to avoid the shame; others said that she was a criminal of some kind that was using the little girl as leverage for her freedom. Whatever the case, she miraculously found work with the mine after helping one of the managers during an oddly timed blackout a month into the two sister's stay. Her job was to look for ore in the underused passages and to listen for tremors in the ground as a sort of safety guide for the workers. It was a placeholder job, one she got for being buddies with the higher-ups, but one that also provided some extra food money for Bastet and herself so it was fine for right then.

Two months later the president of the company came from the capital to Armorcloni to inspect the mine. While there he asked C'yra and a few of the other workers about the state of things.

"The tunnels are stable enough," She told him truthfully, "The problem is simply a lack of resources. There's nothing to mine."

That was apparently not what the president had wanted to hear. He immediately made his way back to the inn where he was staying with a sour mug on his face, and by the end of the day, C'yra had been fired from the company with a vengeance, not that she really cared. The two sisters had eaten early that night at C'yra's insistence.

"We have a long day tomorrow, so hurry up and get to bed so we can leave early."

"We're leaving? Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"Oh…"

"Don't worry. It's a good place."

"Oh. Ok!"

And here they were, making their way through the sandy desert just as the red sun had begun to rise over the dunes. Every once in awhile Bastet would be distracted by the beauty of the sunrise before C'yra had to chastise her into moving quicker, she only relented when a blue building began to appear in the distance, one that relaxed the elder significantly upon sight but did not serve to slow her pace until the two were just on its doorstep. The kitten didn't understand how large the building was until they got closer to it; it was at least 6 C'yras high and 4 Daddys long, with very little in the way of décor or windows. It looked more like a storage shed than anything else, albeit impossibly huge storage shed. There was a human man standing outside of the building who waved to them as they approached, he had on green overalls and gloved hands stained with some black substance that Bastet did not want to place.

He directed himself to C'yra, "You're the one who called last night, Félicette right?"

"Yeah, that's right." C'yra didn't regard him much as she looked around the building to determine its entrance, just like Bastet didn't regard how her sister didn't give the man her real name, as she often didn't.

"…and we're kinda in a hurry so could we speed this up?"

"Oh, yeah sure come on in." The man showed them the entrance, C'yra walked right past him while he held the door open for Bastet. "Milady."

The kitten giggled at the gesture before running into the building after her sister. The inside was even larger than the outside, at least according to Bastet. The man stood behind them and switched on the light to illuminate the giant room. Rows of space ships and aircrafts lined along both sides of the walls, each one was different, and each one was larger and more intrinsically designed than the last. There was one on the far end that looked very much like an admiral battleship, though Bastet wasn't sure if it was really. She remembered the smaller flightier pods that she and C'yra would share while traveling across worlds, they were always cramped but she didn't really complain much beyond stating the obvious to which her sister would usually agree. The kitten would sometimes wonder about the large luxurious ship cruisers that would sometimes zoom past them through space and the kind of people who occupied them. Now here she was standing in the giant-sized hanger that carried smaller jets and ships of a similar caliber to those she often daydreamed about. C'yra let out a grunt that Bastet understood to mean 'look at me' which she did.

"Go on." She said. "Pick out the one you like."

Bastet's tail began to swish back and forth as excitement and eagerness painted her face. "Really?!"

"Yeah sure, go nuts."

The kitten wasted no time in rushing for every ship, cruiser, flightier pod, and jet to find her favorite, she barely acknowledged her sister's warnings about time and space, specifically the lack of time they had to get this done and the carrying capacity they would and wouldn't need in access.

"Just don't get anything too big, and be quick about it!" she yelled after her.

As Bastet was perusing each space vehicle for the one she liked best, the man who ran the shop took a good long look at C'yra. He approached her apprehensively.

"Hey, you didn't mention in your… I-I mean I didn't notice before…" The look of annoyance on the elder sisters face as she turned to him was hard to miss and even harder to stand. The man looked away.

"Your… um…" His words all but died in his mouth.

"My eye," C'yra answered for him, her large animal-like ears twitched, their inner and outer shells scarred with missing tissue in stark contrast with her sisters smaller fuller ones.

"S-sorry miss," he said after finally finding his voice. "…But we only rent out to licensed drivers, company policy and all that… heh. U-unless you have someone else who can drive you I can't-"

"I FOUND ONE!"

A child's voice rang out from the depths of the hanger, breaking the tension as well as the deadly glare that her sister was giving to the poor young shop owner. The two adults made their way over towards the voice with C'yra at the head and the man trailing a distance behind her. They found Bastet climbing up from underneath the belly of slick red luxury line jet. The elder sister whistled in admiration while the shop owner shifted into selling mode.

"That," he told them with a grin, "Is the Inferno X45, or the better more modern version of one at least. They use to be very popular about 8 years ago, top of the line for the young and wealthy. My old man and I got this one about 5 years ago and it was a beauty then, but we've been working on a few… updates till now."

Bastet ran her little paw over the red paint going all the way around the ship before retreating under its side.

"What kind of updates are we talking about?" C'yra asked him.

"Well the cockpit has all of the usual apps, radio, call screen, music player, GPS navigational system of all five traversable galaxies, BlueTooth, but I've included a lot of basic games like chess and pong, there's also a PA system that connects to the rest of the ship. Other than that it comes with a queen-size bed and couch, a kitchen unit with a mini-fridge and a microwave, a lounge with a flat-screen you can get a few channels on, two bathrooms, and a heat and lighting system."

"Hm."

The mans grin fell as he continued, "We also made a few adjustments to the engines, obviously we can't rent out a total hot rod-"

C'yra frowned. "So you slowed it down then."

"Well yeah, but it's still by far the fastest ship in the house, AND might I add that it's completely electric, so no need to worry about polluting the atmosphere of whatever planet you may be traveling to."

A series of giggles erupted from atop the ship to which Bastet's little head poked out from the rim.

"Hey!" the man called out to her, "Please be careful!"

"How much for two days?" C'yra asked him, ignoring both her sister's actions and his plea for them to stop.

"Well," the man hesitated, "Like I said-"

"I'm going to call for someone to drive us where we need." The elder sister's voice softened significantly. "I just want to know if this is something I can afford." her tail swished as she led the man away from the vehicle and Bastet. "Now tell me more about this intercom system…"

Bastet picked the red ship because it was sparkly, and also cause it reminded her of C'yra because C'yra also wore red a lot and both her and the ship were really pretty. She didn't care that C'yra had lines all over her face and arms, or that her ears were all jacked up, or that she was missing one of her eyeballs, her big sister was still beautiful. The most beautiful Magicat ever. Bastet hoped that she could be as pretty as C'yra and Mommy when she got big. Daddy and Papa would always talk about how pretty Mommy was, and since her Mommy was also C'yra's Mommy, Bastet had no problem believing that. She remembered Daddy telling her about how to tell what gems were real or fake back when they last met up on Ennercin, a planet known for their jewelry making.

He said, "If you're not sure how valuable something is, put it in your mouth. If it feels warm then it's a glass copy. Not worth buying." She missed him and Papa.

For the rest of their visit on that planet, whenever Bastet found something new she would hold it up to the light or put it in her mouth to determine how good it was. It took her sister several tries to get her to stop, culminating in the attempted licking of a duster pod C'yra borrowed to get off of Ennercin, that her sister finally told her what dad said was not a universal rule for everything. Now she knew better than to put her mouth on different things, but still, Bastet couldn't help but wonder how good this ship actually was. Seeing how the light bounced off the red jet, revealing all of the little scars that decorated its surface underneath the fresh coat of paint, the ship had been through a lot clearly, but what or how or why would have to remain a mystery to Bastet. Before the kitten knew it, C'yra had returned with the keys to the Inferno and a remote that controlled the roof of the building.

"What are you doing?" her big sister asked.

Bastet placed both small paws on the largest mark she could find, one that was off to the right side of the underbelly of the jet and that stretched up onto the upper right wing. Without looking back she answered through a yawn:

"Doing the Past-Ie-Lookie-Time-Thingy-Thing."

C'yra wrinkled her brow. "Past-Ie-Lookie… oh." Bastet closed her eyes in concentration before her sister forcefully handed her a bag.

"I don't think you'll be able to do that just yet Bastet." The elder opened the door to the ship and walked in, dropping her share of the luggage on the nearby couch.

"Papa said Mommy could." The kitten followed her and looked in awe at the inside of the already impressive spacecraft. Like the outside, the inside was covered in shades of red and gold, with a carpeted floor and wall lights that when switched on lamented the room in a soft but distinct glow. The couch was set in front of a TV monitor, which was plugged into the wall directly above a polished oak drawer.

"Mom had years of experience and training with the Night Diamond." As her sister said this, Bastet had plopped onto the couch with the luggage and watched as her sister walked out again with the remote to the roof hatch. C'yra pushed a button and left the remote in the middle of the building's concrete floor as the ceiling slowly opened to the morning sky. She walked back into the Inferno and shut the door behind her. Bastet propped herself on the couch cushions before letting out a long drown out yawn.

"Can't we use the Diamond?" She asked, her eyes getting droopy, watching her sister go through their bags looking for something.

"Of Course. All Magicats have a connection to it, its how we're able to keep in touch with Dad and Pops while we're on the road." C'yra pulled out a small-flowered blanket and draped it over Bastet's form. She knelt to the kittens level. "But only it's holder, the Sphinx, can wield all of its power."

"Can I do it?" Bastet whispered.

"If you want," C'yra stood up and headed for the cockpit. "But you'll have to work hard for it, and we'll have to be with Dad and Pops when you start practicing. You know they're going to go crazy when they see you again."

Bastet shot up, "When are we seeing them again!?" she asked excitedly.

"Oh…" The elder sister stopped on the stairs that lead to the other room. Her blue eye gleamed with amusement when she looked back at the child, smiling. "Soonish, maybe. Now, take a nap so you don't sleep-in all day."

"But I'm hungry!" Bastet called after her as she walked into the cockpit.

"Eat a Gummy bar from my bag!" Her sister called back. "Then sleep!"

Bastet lay down on the couch with a huff. She was too hungry to go to sleep. Dinner was forever ago, and she didn't want to wait until noon for food like that one time Dad burnt their breakfast on that one planet she doesn't remember. C'yra always packed them some Ms. Luckiest Gummy Bars in her bag but she always got the same flavor and Bastet was sick of strawberry-banana. And so Bastet closed her eyes in the most raged fueled naptime she's ever had and tried to get to sleep before she starved to death in the big luxurious space jet.

Knowing that it was only a matter of time before the younger one would fall asleep again, C'yra sat at the control panel and plugged in the coordinates to their next location. The Inferno lifted up through the roof to look over the barren deserts of Carbias 9. Armorcloni was visible off in the distance along with several other small settlements seen across the planet. C'yra fiddled with the small card in her hand as she plugged it into the ship's interface and began extracting what she needed from its contents. By the time she was through, the ship was already several light-years away from the Carbias system, with several more to go before they reached their destination. In her younger years, she would never have conceived the expansiveness of space or the possibility of basically living perpetually within it as she did now. So much nothing was something she had no concept of as a child.

In those days there was always something to do, always some chaos to wrestle with. Not that her life was devoid of chaos now, what with partially raising a child and all, but the chaos of then was a stark contrast to the chaos of now. Whereas before felt like stepping on spikes of glass through a minefield, now was like walking through an unmarked path of wilderness. Safer in theory, but still a path not to be taken lightly; in fact, the very uncertainty of it compared to the minefield meant that the wild was by far the more dangerous route of the two. At least in the minefield, she knew what to expect, glass and explosives were man driven creations, put there specifically to prolong the suffering of those trapped in the environment. But in the wild, anything could and would happen. Even in these last 3 years of hopping from planet to planet, C'yra knew that it could all come to an end any day now; and then there was Bastet. Her little sister deserved better then the jungle they traversed now, far from the horrors of the minefield; a place where danger was rare and beds were soft. She knew of a place like that long ago though she: C'yra, had never been and had never seen. Still, she knew it existed because almost everyone who was ever important in her life was already there and if Bastet were to go to such a place then…

…That life was not for their kind, and not for C'yra certainly, still if it was at all possible…

Silent and grave, the woman walked out of the cockpit and down the stairs to the trash dispenser, passing by a very much asleep Bastet on her way there. She placed the card inside, locked the glass door, and watched as the plastic burned to ash before being shot out into space. At least for now, she could pretend to have enough for her sister's comfort and survival.


End file.
